Babe Ruth Biography

George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr. was an American baseball outfielder and pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1935. Nicknamed "The Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat", he began his career as a stellar left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth established many MLB batting records, including career home runs, slugging percentage, runs batted in, bases on balls, and on-base plus slugging, some of which have been broken. He was one of the first five inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.

At age seven, Ruth was sent to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory where he learned life lessons and baseball skills from Brother Matthias Boutlier, of the Christian Brothers, the school's disciplinarian and a capable baseball player. In 1914, Ruth was signed to play minor-league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles. Soon sold to the Red Sox, by 1916 he had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs, a feat unusual for any player in the pre-1920 dead-ball era. Source: Wikipedia

Marriages

• 1914-10-14
  Baseball legend Babe Ruth (19) weds Helen Woodford
• 1929-04-17
  Baseball great Babe Ruth (34) marries 2nd wife Claire Merritt Hodgson (31)

Babe Ruth Timeline

• 1914-04-22
  Babe Ruth's 1st professional game (as a pitcher) is a 6-hit 6-0 win
• 1914-07-10
  Boston Red Sox purchase Babe Ruth from Baltimore Orioles
• 1914-07-11
  Babe Ruth debuts as a pitcher for Boston Red Sox, he beats Cleve 4-3
• 1915-05-06
  Red Sox Babe Ruth pitching debut & 1st HR, loses to Yanks 4-3 in 15
• 1916-10-09
  Babe Ruth begins 29 2/3 scoreless World Series innings
• 1917-04-11
  Babe Ruth beats NY Yanks, pitching 3-hit 10-3 win for Red Sox
• 1918-07-08
  Babe Ruth's blast over the fence in Fenway scores Amos Strunk, the Red Sox win 1-0 over Cleve, prevailing rules reduce Babe's HR to a triple
• 1919-07-05
  Red Sox Babe Ruth hits 2 HRs in a game for his 1st of 72 times
• 1919-09-08
  Babe Ruth hits his 26th HR off Jack Quinn in NY, breaking Buck Freeman's 1899 HR mark of 25
• 1919-09-20
  Babe Ruth ties Ned Williamson's major league mark of 27 HRs
• 1919-09-24
  Babe Ruth sets season homer mark at 28 off of Yankee Bob Shawkey
• 1919-09-27
  Babe Ruth's 29th HR is 1st of year in Wash (1st in every park in league in one season)
• 1919-12-26
  Yankees & Red Sox reach agreement on transfer of Babe Ruth the Yankees
• 1920-05-01
  Babe Ruth's 1st Yankee HR & 50th of career, out of Polo Grounds
• 1920-09-29
  Babe Ruth sets then home run season record at 54
• 1921-06-08
  Babe Ruth arrested for speeding, fined $100, & held in jail until 4 PM
• 1921-06-10
  Babe Ruth becomes all time HR champ with #120 (Gavvy Cravath)
• 1921-07-12
  Babe Ruth sets record of 137 career home runs
• 1921-08-28
  Babe Ruth starts streak of an extra-base hit in 9 straight games
• 1921-10-02
  NY Yankee Babe Ruth hits then record 59th HR
• 1921-10-09
  Babe Ruth's 1st WS homer; only Sunday game ever pitched by Carl Mays
• 1922-03-06
  Babe Ruth signs 3 year contract with NY Yankees at $52,000 a year
• 1922-05-20
  Babe Ruth & Bob Meusel, suspended on October 16, 1921, by Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, return to the NY lineup & go hitless
• 1922-05-25
  Babe Ruth suspended 1 day & fined $200 for throwing dirt on an ump
• 1922-06-12
  St Louis Brown Hub Pruett strikes out Babe Ruth 3 straight times
• 1922-08-30
  Babe Ruth is thrown out of a game for 5th time in 1922
• 1923-10-11
  Babe Ruth hits 2 HRs in a World Series game
• 1923-10-23
  Babe Ruth makes a postseason exhibition appearance in a Giants uniform
• 1925-04-05
  Yankees whip Dodgers in exhibition 16-9 but Babe Ruth collapses in NC due to an ulcer
• 1925-04-09
  Babe Ruth rushed to hospital
• 1925-04-17
  NY Yankee Babe Ruth has ulcer surgery
• 1925-05-26
  Babe Ruth is finally out of bed, 5 weeks after ulcer surgery
• 1925-08-09
  Only time Babe Ruth pinch-hit for, Bobby Veach flies out
• 1925-08-29
  After a night on the town, Babe Ruth shows up late for batting practice Miller Huggins suspends Ruth & slaps a $5,000 fine on him
• 1926-10-06
  Babe Ruth hits 3 HRs in a World Series game, Yanks beat Cards 10-5
• 1927-03-02
  Babe Ruth becomes highest paid baseball player ($70,000 per year)
• 1927-04-15
  Babe Ruth hits 1st of 60 HRs of season (off A's Howard Ehmke)
• 1927-06-11
  Babe Ruth hits 19th & 20th of 60 HRs
• 1927-07-12
  Babe Ruth hits 30th of 60 HRs
• 1927-08-16
  1st HR hit out of Comiskey Park Chicago (NY Yankee Babe Ruth)
• 1927-08-22
  Babe Ruth hits 40th of 60 homers
• 1927-09-11
  Babe Ruth hits 50th of 60 homers
• 1927-09-29
  Babe Ruth ties record by hitting grand slams in consecutive games
• 1927-09-30
  Babe Ruth hits record setting 60th HR (off Tom Zachary)
• 1927-10-11
  Lou Gehrig named AL MVP (Babe Ruth (former winner) not eligible)
• 1928-08-01
  Babe Ruth hits HR # 42 & is 4 weeks ahead of his 1927 pace
• 1929-08-11
  Babe Ruth becomes 1st to hit 500 homers (off Willis Hudlin of Cleve)
• 1930-03-08
  Babe Ruth signs 2-year contract for $160,000 with NY Yankee GM Ed Barrow, wrongly predicts "No one will ever be paid more than Ruth"
• 1930-05-21
  NY Yankee Babe Ruth hits 3 consecutive homers
• 1931-08-21
  Babe Ruth hits his 600th HR, off George Blaeholder of Browns
• 1932-10-01
  World Series moves to Chicago, In 5th inning, Babe Ruth waits until he has 2 strikes, points & hits next pitch into center field bleachers
• 1933-07-06
  1st All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 4-2 at Comiskey Park, Chicago, Babe Ruth hits first All Star home run
• 1933-12-29
  Yank refuses to release Babe Ruth so he can manage the Cin Reds
• 1934-01-15
  Babe Ruth signs a 1934 contract for $35,000 ($17,000 cut)
• 1934-07-13
  Babe Ruth hits HR #700 (against Detroit)
• 1934-07-17
  Babe Ruth draws his 2,000th base on balls at Cleveland
• 1934-08-10
  Babe Ruth announces this is his final season as full time player
• 1934-09-24
  2,500 fans see Babe Ruth's farewell Yankee appearance at Yankee Stadium
• 1934-09-30
  Babe Ruth's final game as a Yankee, goes 0 for 3
• 1934-10-20
  All-Star team led by Babe Ruth & Connie Mack sails to Hawaii & Japan
• 1934-11-02
  Babe Ruth tours Tokyo, Japan
• 1935-02-26
  NY Yankees release Babe Ruth, he signs with Boston Braves
• 1935-04-16
  Babe Ruth's 1st NL game, for Boston Braves, included a HR
• 1935-05-25
  Babe Ruth hits his last 3 home runs, Boston Braves vs Pirates
• 1935-05-30
  Babe Ruth's final game, goes hitless for Braves against Phillies
• 1935-05-31
  Babe Ruth grounds out in his final at bat
• 1935-06-02
  Babe Ruth, 40, announces his retirement as a player
• 1935-08-12
  Babe Ruth's final game at Fenway Park, 41,766 on hand
• 1936-03-09
  Babe Ruth turns down Reds to make a comeback as a player
• 1937-03-25
  It is revealed Quaker Oats pays Babe Ruth $25,000 per year for ads
• 1938-06-18
  Babe Ruth is signed as a Dodgers coach for the rest of the season
• 1938-11-02
  Babe Ruth applies for job of St Louis Browns' manager
• 1947-04-27
  Babe Ruth Day celebrated at Yankee Stadium & through out US
• 1948-06-13
  Babe Ruth's final farewell at Yankee Stadium, he dies Aug 16th
• 1948-07-26
  "Babe Ruth Story" premieres, Babe Ruth's last public appearance
• 1949-04-19
  Yankees dedicate a plaque for Babe Ruth
• 1964-08-29
  On Elston Howard Night, Mickey Mantle ties Babe Ruth's career strikeout record (1,330)

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